1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a smart charging system and a method of operating the same, and more particularly to a smart charging system for mobile vehicles and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
The design and development of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) has traditionally been performed without communication to the electrical grid. The focus to date has been on power protection, billing, and security functions. Although these functions provide the minimum required for EV charging, future EVSE must adapt to become more capable.
Future EVSE will require grid connectivity for several reasons. Chief among these is the need to manage utility load profiles. Increased grid loads are one consequence of mass-adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). If this load can be effectively managed, for example by shifting charging times to off-peak hours, the power generation and distribution network can run with better utilization, without adding new generating plants. Smart charging also enables better utilization of local distribution assets such as transformers. Avoiding local transformer upgrades through load diversification and intelligent peak-load management is a primary cost-avoidance strategy of electric utilities. This was stressed in stating that “capacity is not an issue,” but rather the issue is the high localized demand within a neighborhood. A smart EVSE must support utility companies in such issues with the minimal effort required from the utility.
But most importantly, the consumer of a plug-in-vehicle benefits from smart EVSEs. By shifting Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) charging to nighttime hours, the costs of power not only drop, but in some cases even go negative in so called—“negative LMP (Locational Marginal Pricing)” scenarios (which are often associated with the growing presence of wind power on the grid). A smarter EVSE can also be an enabler of DC fast-charging, which helps overcome charge-time issues for PEV buyers. Smart charging is needed to unlock the value of PEVs, and push them forward into the mass market. In summary, smart EVSEs are a core component of the electric-vehicle future.
The need for smart-charging is intertwined with the issue of EVSE (charging apparatus) cost. The use of existing communication protocols, such as CDMA modems and cellular network communication is a major driver of costs at the systems level. If every EVSE was to employ cellular communications for grid-communication, costs will simply be too high. There is a need for an optimized communications strategy for smart EVSEs, which minimizes overall cost while providing effective management of EV charging and grid loads. A second related issue is the hardware cost of the EVSE itself. According to Plug-In America, today's Level 2 (L2), UL Listed EVSEs cost between $1000 and $4500. This cost is itself a barrier to mass-market adoption of EVs; and this cost does not yet include grid-communication hardware and software. The addition of such hardware, and particularly multiple variants of communication protocols, such as CDMA, Wi-Fi, and so on, could be a driver of future costs. Although there exists not just one solution, notwithstanding an optimized low-cost route must be developed, considering the EVSE as a system, and taking advantage of low-cost technologies throughout the EVSE design.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a smart charging system for mobile vehicles and a method of operating the same to smartly charge the electric vehicle according to the power-supplying of the utility grid and the power-charging information of the electric vehicle.